> For this first World Ocean Review, published in 2010, the authors have presented generally accepted scientific knowledge from their specialist fields of research. Most of the authors are engaged in interdisciplinary research in the Cluster of Excellence „The Future Ocean“, which investigates aspects of ocean change.

Biologist at the CAU Kiel. Prof. Bosch’s specialty fields are developmental biology, evolutionary biology and comparative immunology. He investigates questions of pattern formation and the evolution of stem cells as well as immune defence mechanisms in simple organisms such as the cnidarians and Urochordata (tunicates). In his research, evolution is viewed as a fundamental discipline for medicine. Within the field of molecular biosciences he specializes in investigating the evolution and function of genes that are disease-related in humans.
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Prof. Dr. Franciscus Colijn

Biologist at the Research and Technology Centre (FTZ) of the CAU Kiel and Director of the Institute for Coastal Research at the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht. Prof. Colijn engages in scientific analyses of the current condition as well as the development of coastal seas. His specialty fields include the development of survey methods in the marine environment, long-term changes in the Wadden Sea and North Sea, and marine pollution issues.
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Prof. Dr. Ralf Ebinghaus

Chemist at the Institute for Coastal Research of the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht. Prof. Ebinghaus is head of the centre’s Department for Environmental Chemistry. He is also Professor (h.c.) at the Faculty of Environmental Science at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. His research fields include transport, deposition, and air/sea gas exchange of persistent chemical substances in coastal, marine and polar environments. He is editor of the journal „Environmental Chemistry“.
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Prof. Dr. Arne Körtzinger

Marine chemist at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel. Prof. Körtzinger’s research focuses on the marine carbon cycle and its anthropogenic perturbation, the role of oxygen as a biogeochemical switch and sensitive indicator of global change in the ocean, and the development and application of new methods and sensors as well as approaches to autonomous ocean observation, such as profiling subsurface floats.
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Prof. Dr. Mojib Latif

Climatologist at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel. Prof. Latif engages in research on the mechanisms and predictability of natural climate variability at different time scales (from seasons to centuries) and anthropogenic impacts on the climate. He develops complex climate models and analyses observations to investigate phenomena such as El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) or the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).
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Dr. Birte Matthiessen

Marine biologist at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel. Dr. Matthiessen investigates ecological regulatory mechanisms of species coexistence and the consequences of biodiversity loss for ecosystem functioning. She also engages in research on the effects of global change on biodiversity and its consequences for ecosystem functioning.
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Prof. Dr. Frank Melzner

Marine biologist at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel and head of the working group on “Ocean Acidification” as part of the Kiel “Future Ocean” Excellence Cluster. Prof. Melzner studies the physiological tolerance mechanisms of marine animal species. In this field his focus is on the response of organisms to the increasing acidification of the oceans resulting from the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Sea urchins, coleoids, mussels, and starfish are used as model organisms.
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Prof. Dr. Andreas Oschlies

Physicist at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel. Prof. Oschlies develops ecological and biogeochemical ocean models to study the sensitivity of the marine biology and the oceanic carbon uptake to environmental changes. His current research interests include oxygen-sensitive processes and their impact on the global nitrogen and carbon cycles. He is also participating in the evaluation of various climate engineering proposals and the development of relevant governance schemes.
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Dr. Sven Petersen

Mineralogist at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel. Dr. Petersen studies the formation and evolution of seafloor hydrothermal systems and their associated ore deposits. Apart from the study of potential marine resource exploitation, his particular interest in this field is focused on the exploration of the underlying geological setting of such deposits by drilling, and the use of autonomous underwater vehicles in the exploration of black and white smokers.
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Prof. Dr. Alexander Proelß

Professor for public law with a focus on the law of the sea at the CAU Kiel and head of the working group on “Law of the Sea” of the Kiel “Future Ocean” Excellence Cluster. In his research, Prof. Proelss focuses on the international law of the sea and international environmental law as well as on selected areas of European law and constitutional law. His current activities include a number of projects in the areas of the law of the sea and international environmental law (i.a. on Common Fisheries Policy, European species protection, and climate engineering).
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